An amplification system is typically used to amplify acoustic signals, such as voices, for being heard by people in a nearby surrounding. In case of a closed environment, such as in a conference hall, the amplification system may be used to amplify the acoustic signals received from a particular person, such as a speaker, for enabling people at far end of the conference hall to hear the speaker. Generally, in the conference hall, the speaker is provided with a microphone to capture the voice of the speaker. The voice captured by the microphone is amplified and broadcasted through one or more loudspeakers that may be placed at different locations in the conference hall.
At times, there may be cases where there may be more than one speaker, such as in case where individuals are talking amongst themselves. In such cases, the microphones may capture more than one acoustic signal pertaining to more than one individual. In such a scenario, the amplification system has to be configured so as to amplify a particular acoustic signal. In absence of such configuration, the amplification system may amplify all the acoustic signals, and it may result in chaos.
The above situation may be explained with respect of an example. In case of a closed environment having a plurality of individuals, there may be instances where an individual is feeling uncomfortable, such as due to dizziness or other certain health conditions. In such cases, with so many voices being generated in the closed environment, it becomes difficult to hear the voice of the individual in discomfort. For example, if a child is separated from his parents and crying in the conference hall, the child's voice may get unnoticed between the voices of different individuals. As mentioned earlier, even though the microphones employed in the closed environment are able to capture the voices of the individuals in the closed environment, the existing techniques are unable to detect only the voice of the individual in discomfort.
Various approaches are known and disclosed in the state of the art to amplify the voices of individuals. One such approach is disclosed, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,535,609. U.S. Pat. No. 6,535,609 discloses a communication system for the interior cabin of a vehicle. The communication system includes a first microphone and a second microphone, positioned at a first location and a second location respectively within the cabin, for receiving spoken voices and converting the spoken voices into a first audible signal and a second audible signal respectively.
The communication system may further include a filtering device for providing first and second filtered audio signals responsive to the first and the second audio signals. Further, the communication system comprises a summer for summing the first and second compensated audio signals to provide a resultant audio signal indicative of a detection location within the cabin, relative to the first and second locations of the first and the second microphones. The communication system also includes an echo cancellation device for receiving the resultant audio signal and for outputting an echo-canceled audio signal. In addition, the communication system includes a loudspeaker for converting the echo-canceled audio signal into an output reproduced voice within the cabin.